Interstellar Republic
}} The Interstellar Republic, also known simply as the Republic, is the dominant governing body incorporating most of the that rose to power in the aftermath of the Reaper invasion, absorbing the political and military leadership of the former . Like its predecessor, the Interstellar Republic followed the principles thousands of generations before—it is founded on the interest of compromise and cooperation and has no official power over the independent governments of other species. But unlike the old Citadel Council, the Republic's leadership consisted of one individual rather than an executive committee, all of whom were held via democratic elections. It also sought to hastily prevent a repeat of galactic history; and instead focused on strengthening the forces of local planetary governments and reconstruction efforts to worlds ravaged by the conflict during its early stages. Briefly inhabiting a wing of Interstellar Republic politics, the Batarian Remnant would eventually secede from the greater body once tensions reached a breaking point and emergence of the that ultimately led to the beginning of the Cold War—one in which both sides stood on the brink of yet another intergalactic war. History Origins For over fifty thousand years, had been governed by a supranational union called the . With the space station serving as its capital, the Council was comprised of representatives from each member species. While associate members were granted an embassy, the Citadel was ultimately ruled by official members such as the , and , who were selected by delegates of their respective homeworlds. With the assistance of their elite military operatives, the , the Council enjoyed a thousand years of peace. However, things changed during the Battle of the Citadel in 2183—the first major conflict since the and the —when the first known encountered by modern Citadel races called attacked and decimated the . Although the forces led by Admiral and the first human Spectre Commander Shepard suffered heavy casualties to save their lives, Councilors Tevos, Valern and Sparatus rescinded their pledge to honor the Alliance's sacrifices and convinced themselves and the galaxy at-large that Sovereign was merely a construct, painting rogue Spectre agent as the mastermind behind the battle instead. Only the Citadel's first human Councilor disagreed and was sidelined by the Council's political process which frustrated the former soldier. They had since then refused to help Shepard after his return from the dead and effectively wasting all the time Shepard bought them to prepare for the Reaper's invasion. Though the Council does agree to re-instate Shepard's Spectre status in exchange for him to keep a low-profile in the , it was clear that their motive behind this is to rid themselves of him, who they now viewed as a 'troublemaker' and 'deranged madman', having completely forgotten Shepard's efforts to save their lives not two years earlier. As time went on, the Council became increasingly insular and selfish as they continued to ignore the Reapers' existence even after 's attack on the as evidence of their involvement even as alien and disturbing as Grayson's mutations were, an organization like could be just as capable of producing such technology. The fact that Grayson was once a member of Cerberus was further proof to the Council that only Cerberus was involved. Things finally came to a head when the Reapers invaded in 2186, catching the rest of the galaxy by surprise. Now forced to publicly acknowledge the ancient sentient machine race's existence, the Citadel races struggled to put up a defensive against such formidable adversaries. For almost one year, the galaxy fell into chaos. The Reapers made quick progress, conquering huge portions of the galaxy in their trek towards purging the galaxy of all advanced civilization. To complicate matters, the Council races were more concerned with protecting their own borders rather than coming to the assistance of others, forcing the re-instated Commander Shepard to help deal with their own problems in order to gain their support. In addition, Cerberus fractured the ordered of battle in an attempt to seize control of the Reapers to advance their pro-human agenda. Despite a series of setbacks and a staggering increase in military and civilian casualties, the Citadel Allied Forces managed to construct a massive superweapon dubbed " " powerful enough to defeat the Reapers and launched the decisive battle to retake Earth. By the battle's end, the Reapers were destroyed and the severely damaged. Rendezvousing to a predesignated area, the remaining allied fleets won a pyrrhic victory and begun preparations for reconstruction. Government and politics The Interstellar Republic is a federal parliamentary republic and representative democracy―in which majority rule is tempered by minority rights protected by law―established by the Citadel-Guevara Accord, which serves as the government's supreme legal document and is regulated by a system of checks and balances. It properly defined the roles between the government and its member states. The Republic is composed of three branches of government: the legislative, executive and judiciary. Membership in the Interstellar Republic Membership followed an application process (during which the candidate member reviewed the Citadel-Guevara Accord and other governing statutes and agreed to abide by them) and an assessment process (during which the candidate member's annual support contribution was determined). Independent governments of other species applying to join the Interstellar Republic must meet the required conditions of Amendment XLIX, Section 12, Clause 3 of the Articles of Membership; while those wishing to leave are required to invoke Amendment LXXII, Section 45, Clause 29 of the Articles of Withdrawal. Legislative branch The Galactic Senate is the central legislative body of the Interstellar Republic consisting of hundreds of senators who represented the many planets of the galaxy. Its primary duties were to mediate any disputes between systems, worlds and cultures, to regulate trade between systems, to protect and care for citizens in need and to provide mutual defense in face of threats to the Republic. Executive branch The Interstellar Republic is headed by the First Minister, who was elected by an absolute majority of votes by the people. In addition to being in charge of the executive branch as the head of state and head of government, the First Minister can veto legislation passed by the Senate (subject to override), appoint members of their Cabinet who administer and enforce laws and policies and act as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces―although that title is sometimes used to refer to the highest-ranking member of the military. Candidates who are elected to the office can legally serve only two consecutive four-year terms and is prohibited from seeking a third term due to term limits. Judicial branch The Supreme Court is the highest court of law in the Interstellar Republic while the Tribunals and Court of Appeals are considered the lower and middle courts respectively and is composed of the judicial branch of the Republic's government. They are headquartered on the . The assigned responsibilities of judges and magistrates (each addressed as "Your Honor") is to interpret the law and determine constitutional legality. Decisions of the lower courts may be appealed to the higher, but only the Supreme Court in some cases has the official power to prevent laws passed by the legislative branch, court decisions or acts of the executive branch if the law violates the Citadel-Guevara Accord. The Supreme Court consists of nine judges, the Court of Appeals has five and the Tribunals have three, all of whom are appointed by the First Minister and may choose to remain on the bench until they die or resign. When that happens, the First Minister must nominate someone new to replace the judge who left. Military and Intelligence Republic Defense Fleet Republic Intelligence Spectres Other Law enforcement Economy Society and culture Astrography Members Current * * * * * * * *Quarian Conclave *Raloi Congregation *Krogan Clans Former *Batarian Remnant (2187-94) Quick overview General information *'Organization type:' Federal parliamentary republic *'Founding document:' Citadel-Guevara Accord *'Constitution:' Citadel-Guevara Accord *'Head of state:' First Minister *'Commander-in-chief:' **First Minister **Supreme Commander *'Executive branch:' Office of the First Minister *'Legislative branch:' Galactic Senate *'Judicial branch:' Supreme Court *'Military branch:' **Republic Defense Fleet **Republic Special Operations Forces Societal information *'Capital:' , *'Official language:' Galactic Basic *'Currency:' *'Official holiday:' Unification Day *'Anthem:' "We Are One" Historical information *'Formed from:' ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **Batarian Fleet **Citadel Allied Forces *'Date established:' 2187 CE, one year after the Battle for Earth *'Era(s):' Post-Reaper War Appearances in other media Novels *''Mass Effect: A Hero's Legacy'' (First appearance) Category:Under Construction Category:Political Category:Organizations Category:Governments Category:MarkRulez711 Category:Factions Category:Articles by MarkRulez711